South City

Overview

As of Live for Speed S2, South City is the only street circuit complex in the game. South City is fictional, arguably based on the style of certain towns and roads in England. As it is a street circuit, temporary barricades and kerbing protect the roadside buildings from cars, which also means there is little room for error in South City. Going a few feet too wide while exiting a turn could mean slamming your car into an Armco barrier.

South City has gone under renovations since its debut, mainly to make its pit lane more accessible, and to smooth out the slippery trolley rails that ran along sections of the circuit. Its popularity among users is diminishing somewhat, but the "Classic" configuration was the most popular track during the S1 release.

Configurations

South City has six configurations. The latter three configurations make use of most of Classic, Sprint 1, and Sprint 2 in varying manners.

Classic is South City's most popular configuration, as the 5th most driven track in Live for Speed. the least popular layout is Sprint 2.

Classic

• Distance: 1.3 miles / 2.1 km
• Grid Size: 32 cars
• Laptime Range: 0:32 - 1:02

Still a favorite among online racers, the South City Classic requires swift and smooth response at high speeds. Exiting the front straightaway, the first slight left-hand turn under the tunnel is extremely fast and may upset the balance of faster cars, especially those that turn in too hard or have a substandard setup. This leads to a left hairpin, which often causes incidents either through differences in braking zones or collisions during the turn. Following the hairpin is a tricky chicane, which leaves almost no room for error. The fastest line takes a car extremely close to the Armco walls, especially upon exit, and entering the chicane improperly can lead to spins and accidents far too quickly. This also creates issues for drivers entering the chicane, as there are blind spots where an opponent ahead may have spun out, leaving little time and space to react.

Perhaps the best passing opportunity (besides the first hairpin) comes in the final turn at South City Classic, a fast downhill left-hander that could arguably be called a wide hairpin. Keeping speed up for this section is crucial for the exit onto the front straight, and the turn is wide enough to allow for passing attempts with ease.

Sprint 1

• Distance: 1.3 miles / 2.0 km
• Grid Size: 16 cars
• Laptime Range: 0:37 - 1:09
• Does NOT allow for pit stops

South City Sprint 1 takes drivers along the short back straightaway of South City Classic, before turning them onto a section of South City highway.

Sprint 1's first turn, a 90-degree left turn at a slight downhill angle, can be extremely hazardous if not anticipated properly, and inexperienced drivers often find themselves hitting the Armco or the tires in the run-off section. From here, drivers wind their way to an onramp leading to Sprint 1's back straighaway, the South City highway. This straight and the hairpin that follows at its end are both excellent passing opportunities. The final turn is another left-hander that looks deceptively sharp, but passes as another 90-degree turn.

One key to remember on this course is that pit stops are not possible. Damage to the bodywork or the tires cannot be repaired, so caution must be taken (especially in the first turn) not to slam into barricades or other cars.

Sprint 2

• Distance: 0.8 miles / 1.3 km
• Grid Size: 16 cars
• Laptime Range: 0:28 - 0:49
• Does NOT allow for pit stops

Sprint 2 is an extremely short course in South City, taking a few technical turns through a town section. The track starts with four almost 90-degree bends, before moving to a winding back straightaway. This leads to a downhill slope which takes drivers to a tight left-hand turn through the Classic configuration chicane and back to the start/finish line.

Passing opportunities may be at a premium here, as the track rarely opens up enough for drivers to get an easy run around an opponent. Exiting turns quickly and beating opponents on acceleration may be the best chance for successful passing.

As with Sprint 1, caution must be taken around this track, as drivers cannot pit for fuel, tires, or repairs.

City Long

• Distance: 2.5 miles / 4.0 km
• Grid Size: 32 cars
• Laptime Range: 1:14 - 2:15

South City's longest circuit combines the first half of the Classic configuration, the Sprint 2 configuration, and the second half of the Sprint 1 configuration. Only the chicane and Sprint 1's front straightaway (or Classic's back straight) are excluded in this configuration. While much of the same advice from other configurations may be followed for City Long, drivers should be cautious of the transitions between sections. The right turn at the end of Sprint 2's segment leading into the Sprint 1 section is especially important, as this sharp downhill turn is followed by a winding uphill section leading to the highway. Speed is crucially important in this section, as this is one of South City Long's best passing sections.

Town Course

• Distance: 2.0 miles / 3.1 km
• Grid Size: 32 cars
• Laptime Range: 0:59 - 1:48

The Town Course is much like City Long, with the exception of excluding the highway, instead utilizing South City Classic's back straightaway. This makes for a somewhat technical route, but also puts more emphasis on the sharp right-hander exiting the Sprint 2 section. With this turn leading directly to the Classic back straight, a fast exit is even more important, to maintain speed through the second half of the Classic section. The need to use the Classic configuration section for passing is also more necessary than ever.

Chicane Route

• Distance: 1.8 miles / 2.9 km
• Grid Size: 32 cars
• Laptime Range: 0:49 - 1:31

The Chicane Route eliminates the town sections of Sprint 2 in favor of Classic's chicane. In addition, this is the only configuration that uses the Classic start/finish line in the opposite direction, essentially running the circuit in reverse. While the resulting layout is very fast, the turns leading up to the chicane are fast and difficult, requiring precision and finesse with pedal and steering control to survive intact, similar to what the chicane requires in the Classic configuration.